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Por un lado, el carro es rápido; por otro lado, la desventaja es el tráfico.

Por un lado, el carro es rápido; por otro lado, la desventaja es el tráfico.
On one hand, the car is fast; on the other hand, the disadvantage is the traffic.
From Lesson 215:Structuring arguments (por un lado..., en cambio)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Por un lado, el carro es rápido; por otro lado, la desventaja es el tráfico.

How does por un lado ... por otro lado work, and do I always have to repeat lado?
These phrases organize a contrast between two points, matching the English 'on one hand... on the other hand'. You actually don't have to repeat the word lado in the second half. You can simply say por otro, and it means the exact same thing in Spanish.
Why is carro used here instead of coche?
In most of Latin America, carro or auto are the standard everyday words for a car. Coche is widely understood but is primarily used in Spain. Since this lesson focuses on Latin American Spanish, carro is exactly what you will hear.
Why does the sentence use es for el carro es rápido instead of está?
We use es from the verb ser because being fast is treated as a built-in characteristic or general fact about the car. If you wanted to say a car is driving fast right at this very moment, you would usually say va rápido (it goes fast) instead of using the verb estar.
Is tráfico the only word used for street traffic?
While tráfico is very common and perfectly correct in this sentence, you will also frequently hear the word tránsito used to mean vehicle traffic in many Latin American countries.

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